2-26-01Black Radical CongressSTATEMENT ON THE CRISIS AT PACIFICA RADIO AND STATION WBAI

Last year, the Black Radical Congress expressed its "dismay
and outrage" over the undermining of the progressive mission
of radio station KPFA, in the San Francisco Bay area, by the
board of the Pacifica Foundation. At the time, the board had
perpetrated firings and lockouts of key staff members, which
disrupted programming at the station -- the Pacifica Network's
flagship of progressive, community-oriented commentary -- but
which also sparked a vigorous and sustained defense of the
station by the community it serves. Happily, that community
was successful in protecting KPFA's principled, alternative
mission to provide an outlet for voices rarely heard in
"mainstream" venues: voices primarily from the ground
and from the left.

In the meantime, however, Pacifica's east coast equivalent
of KPFA, station WBAI in New York City, has come under a
siege that mirrors the KPFA struggle to survive actions of a
board bent on destructive change. Again, listeners dependent
on the alternative sources of news, information and analyses
available on a Pacifica station are alarmed and fearful that
they are about to lose it all. Again, programming has been
disrupted as beleaguered staff have been subjected to firings,
lockouts and even "bannings." The firings, handed down without
any semblance of due process so far as we can determine,
include general station manager Valerie Van Isler, programming
director Bernard White and Sharan Harper, former producer of
the popular morning show, "Wake-Up Call." In addition, Amy
Goodman and her nationally broadcast, award-winning bastion
of uncompromising, incisive progressive commentary and analysis,
"Democracy Now!", appear to be especially targeted -- although,
as we write, Goodman and her show remain on course. Also ominous
is the fact that the destabilization of WBAI is happening just
as the FCC has severely restricted the public's ability to
establish community programming outlets on the nation's
airwaves. These new restrictions facilitate the further
privatization of the means of political and cultural
expression, consistent with a continuing nationwide
assault on all things public.

The Black Radical Congress understands, as do all reasonable
people, that change is part of life. Undoubtedly, WBAI would
benefit from managerial and professional "quality-control"
adjustments designed to improve its operations. But any such
changes must be made within the context of the station's
founding mandate, and with respect for the rights of all
staff to be treated fairly. The New York communities served
by WBAI will not accept the dilution of the station's
progressive voice, which seems to be the subtext of the
Pacifica board's stated "audience expansion" objective. Nor
can they accept the anti-democratic treatment meted out to
union and management personnel alike by the Pacifica board
and its agents.

The Black Radical Congress demands, as steps toward
resolving the current difficulties:

(1) that terminated staff be reinstated, and that any issues
concerning their job performance be addressed according to
accepted due process procedures;

(2) that the "bannings" and lockouts of certain staff
members be lifted, and

(3) that the concerns and expectations of the WBAI
listenership be heeded and reflected in the process of
settling the crisis. We strongly support the six dissident
Pacifica National Board members who are working for a
democratic and equitable solution to the crisis.

As the Black Radical Congress stated last year during the
troubles at KPFA, we must protect our public institutions
and services from the rampaging two-headed monster: corporate
greed and would-be political tyranny -- a monster no doubt
emboldened by the installation of so-called President George
W. Bush. Radio station WBAI is yet a new battlefront in the
intensifying struggle to build real democracy in this country.

The Unity Party, a New York-based, Black-led, independent, multi-racial,
progressive organization, supports the efforts of the six members of the
board of Pacifica, and thousands of Pacifica listeners, to return
Pacifica to its original vision as a non-corporate, community-based,
democratic, national radio network. We specifically:

-oppose the proposed new bylaws put together by boad member John Murdock
and others which would make a mockery of this vision;

-call for the resignation from the board of Murdock and others
attempting to corporatize Pacifica; and,

-support the re-empowerment of local station advisory boards, as well as
opennness and transparency in Pacifica decision-making processes.

It would be a tragedy and a loss for all who value social justice and
democracy if Pacifica is not reclaimed and redeemed. We will contribute
as best we can to this critical objective.

At last night's (Thursday's) delegate assembly, the Professsional Staff
Congress of the City University of New York (the university's faculty and
staff union), unanimously adopted a resolution contained the following two
resolved clauses:

"Resolved that the PSC-CUNY reaffirms its commitment to free speech, the
democratic need for a diversity of opinion, and union solidarity; and be it
further

Resolved, that the PSC-CUNY vigorously protests the recent firings and
censorship efforts at WBAI and calls upon the Pacifica National Board to stop
stifling community- based stations that express radical voices so often
muffled in today's society."

The union also expressed its support for Resolution No. 1723 by Council
Member Quinn on behalf of the local, democratically run WBAI.

"...when I worked with the African Liberation Support Committee, in
the early, mid 70's, the information that we received about what
was happening right there, on the front, with the liberation
movements, whether it was FRELIMO, or SWAPO, whether it was
NPLA, whatever, all the information I got came from Pacifica. The
most up-to-date information, the deployment of Cuban troops, all of
that came from Pacifica. We would come home from whatever we
do and listen to Walter...uh, what's Walter's name? Walter and I
went to college together, San Francisco State College together -
Walter's programming, all the programs, an incredible resource,
source of information about what was happening. What was
happening not only there, on the continent, but also what was the
reaction to that, what was happening on the continent, here.

I absolutely support the efforts....I do. Danny Glover supports the
efforts to get a new Board that would vitalize, revitalize, in the ideas
that that we have a mission as an independent news source, a
mission to get the information to people, a mission to have that
dialogue, to have people included in this dialogue, in this critical
dialogue at this point in time, not only about democracy, about how
we want to raise our children, about the planet we want to leave to
our children, and it is a vital dialogue, and we have to be a part of it,
and they have abdicated their right to be a part of that dialogue.
Whatever they've have done in the past, whatever they've done in
the past, in the civil rights movement, I'm not questioning that, and
those who have been participants, but the fact is now we need new
energy. We need to fight the power, we need to fight the power
right now, not acquiesce to the power, not capitulate to the power.

..often came from Pacifica, from KPFA in Berkeley, from the
station here in NY and LA. And it's under attack, and we have to
understand that this attack is an attack on us, it is an attack on all
of us who are really talking about institutional change, because the
forces now in place have defined the whole arena of information,
and how what information we are to receive, what the whole
discourse that is happening around issues, all the issues, whether
it is issues around globalization, whether it is issues around capital
punishment, whether it is issues around poverty. Those forces
define what the dialogue is, the first thing they want they do is to
control those medias and those outlets that provide the truth, that
include us in the dialogue, that include us in the discourse, so we
have to be able to support, to recognize, as Malcolm would say, to
recognize right now what the situation is, and begin to deal with the
situation and support and fight for those. This is talking about right
now, we're not talking about...we're talking about right now. We
have to use this moment, as we remember Malcolm, and talk
about the state of the issues now, and the battle which we have we
to wage right now, and certainly the battle over who has control of
information, who dictates the dialogue, who dictates the discourse
is one of the key battles that we have to wage. We have to wage
that."

RESOLUTION OF THE SEBASTOPOL CITY COUNCIL IN SUPPORT OF THE RESTORATION AND
PRESERVATION OF PACIFICA RADIO FOUNDING PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY AND FAIRNESS

Whereas,KPFA in Berkeley, and WBAI in New York have a reputation of award
winning journalism and reporting. And, KPFA and WBAI are leaders of
independent broadcast media with their non-corporate, non-state controlled
programming; and

Whereas, KPFA has 1568 Active members with Sebastopol Addresses, and

Whereas, KPFA's programming has served the culturally diverse interest of
Sebastopol' residents for 52 years, and

Whereas the current structure of the Pacifica Foundation provides no means
for Pacifica listener-sponsors to know about or to influence decision-making
regarding the fate and uses of the stations and the foundation which they
support,

Whereas the Pacifica National Board has undertaken to amend its by-laws in
recent years to empower itself to entirely select its own membership and is
presently facing three lawsuits challenging the legality of these undertaken
changes and the status of many current PNB members,

Whereas Pacifica administration (Executive Director, National Program
Director, Station Managers, and other top staff) have for years
systematically removed from the network without due process large numbers of
volunteers and staff people, including many on the grounds that they
notified the listenership of matters of importance regarding the status and
policies of the Pacifica Foundation,

Whereas recent actions of the PNB and the Pacifica Administration -
particularly the lockout at KPFA in 1999 and the recent abrupt removal of
key station staff from WBAI without following long-standing station
procedures for such removals, as well as the imposition of security guards,
the changing of station locks, and the threat of installation of
surveillance equipment at WBAI - have provoked widespread objection, outrage
and unrest among the station's supporters, workers, and the progressive
community at large,

Whereas the aforementioned outrage, objection and unrest appear to be
increasing rather than abating, threatening the reputation and financial
stability of the entire Pacifica network,

Whereas the Pacifica administration and Pacifica National Board have been
unwilling to engage in good-faith efforts to respond to the objections being
raised by other Pacifica stakeholders,

Whereas the Pacifica National Board is presently contemplating substantial
revision of the Foundation bylaws at a time when the legitimacy of its
board, the legality of the bylaws and procedures it is presently operating
under, and the reconfiguration of the network that it has undertaken are
being questioned in both the legal arena and the court of public opinion,

Whereas the contemplated bylaw revisions contain a large number of
substantive changes that run counter to Pacifica's tradition of shared
governance and instead concentrate power, without accountability, in the
hands of the dominant faction of the Pacifica National Board, which stands
to gain extraordinary powers over the use and disposition of Pacifica assets
at the expense of other Pacifica constituencies by their passage,

Whereas the objectionable portions of the proposed By-laws apparently
include features that:

1. Allow hired Pacifica executives to be members of the board;
2. Allow key decisions to be made by as few as three board members;
3. Permit the sale of Pacifica assets (i.e. stations like KPFA and WBAI,
estimated to be worth at least $250 million to commercial broadcasters) by a
vote of the executive committee only, as long as the sale does not include
"all or substantially all of the assets or property of the Foundation";
4. Fail to reflect the board resolution affirming the commitment not to sell
any of the Pacifica radio stations;
5. Allow directors to be hired by Pacifica to perform professional services;
6. Allow non-board members to be officers of the Pacifica Foundation board;
7. Reduce Pacifica board meeting notice time from seven days to virtually
minutes;
8. Reduce the notice required for Pacifica Board meetings, from mail or
delivery to fax, e-mail or phone message;
9. Allow Pacifica board meetings to be conducted entirely by telephone,
eliminating public observation;
10. Impose no independent requirement to give public notice of Pacifica
board or committee meetings;
11. Allow the Pacifica board to delegate full unreviewed corporate and
contractual authority to board committees;
12. Allow the national Pacifica board to appoint 1/3 of local advisory board
's members;
13. Deny membership on any Local Advisory Board to any Pacifica "volunteer";
14. Deny Local Advisory Board membership to all Pacifica or station staff;
15. Ban elected local advisory board members (as at KPFA) from serving on
the national board;
16. Reduce the minimum vote for removal of a board member from two-thirds to
51 percent;
17. Eliminate a board member's right to due process in the event his or her
removal from the board is sought;

Whereas inadequate time is available prior to the upcoming Pacifica National
Board meeting in March to fully evaluate the impact of the proposed By-laws
changes and for affected Pacifica constituencies to register their views and
for these views to be thoughtfully incorporated,

Whereas Pacifica, as the largest and most important non-state, non-corporate
controlled independent broadcast media in the U.S. if not the world, - with
an historic mission to promote peace and justice and built and financially
supported by generations of visionaries and activists - must remain above
reproach,

Be it therefore resolved that the Sebastopol City Council urges the
following:

A. That no action on the proposed bylaws be taken at the upcoming Pacifica
National Board meeting, to be held in Houston this March 2001.
B. That the PNB instruct Pacifica executive staff to enter into good-faith
negotiations with members of the Pacifica listener communities, including
fired and banned programmers, to attempt to de-escalate the conflict at
WBAI, KPFA and all sister stations, and further, commit to following
long-standing station procedures for the hiring and firing of all station
staffs.
C. That the PNB and Pacifica executive staff cease their efforts to exclude
listeners, subscribers, unpaid and paid staff, and Local Advisory Boards
from knowledge of and influence over decisions about the direction and uses
of the network, and instead work to institute processes that include all
Pacifica stakeholders in a meaningful role in determining Pacifica's future.

February 19, 2001
From the Berkeley Daily Planet
Berkeley City Council backs workers in KPFA power struggleBy Jon Mays Daily Planet Staff (02-19-01)

Support is growing for the local KPFA community in its struggle to
retain its grassroots ideals of free speech and autonomy as the
Berkeley City Council this week came out against a proposal by
parent company Pacifica Radio Network to change its by-laws.

Such a change, City Councilmember Kriss Worthington said,
would mean a dangerous shift in power from the people who built
free-speech radio more than 50 years ago.

"Drastic revisions to the by-laws really consolidates power in a few
hands - including the power to sell stations," Worthington said.

Last week, the City Council voted 7-0 in favor of a resolution that
both supported KPFA staff members for their contribution to the
community and opposed any change in Pacifica's by-laws.
Councilmembers Betty Olds and Polly Armstrong abstained from
voting.

The KPFA/Pacifica Radio Network conflict arose in July 1999 after
Pacifica officials did not renew a popular KPFA general manager's
contract and directed staff not to talk about the situation.
Programmers and radio hosts protested, leading to a lock-out at
the station and a three-day protest in the streets during which more
than 50 people were arrested. Although the station re-opened later
that month, there is still tension between station supporters and
Pacifica. At the time, the City Council passed a number of
resolutions supporting the station and its listeners.

At its national board meeting this March, Pacifica has proposed to
revise its by-laws in several ways. The changes would enable
Pacifica to whittle its board from 19 to as few as five which allows
key decisions to be made by as few as three board members;
reduce the minimum vote for removal of a board member from two-
thirds to 51 percent; ban local advisory board members from
serving on the national board; reduce meeting notice time to as
little as 24 hours; allow Pacifica executives to serve on the board;
and permit the sale of Pacifica assets.

These proposed changes coupled with recent staff firings and
lockouts at WBAI - Pacifica's New York affiliate - prompted
Worthington to take action.

"We got involved when there were serious problems with KPFA in
Berkeley," Worthington said. "And the WBAI situation is eerily
reminiscent of what happened at KPFA. It once again puts it into
crisis mode because these are such extreme actions."

Worthington is meeting with state Assemblywoman Dion Aroner (D-
Berkeley) this week to gain additional support for local KPFA
listeners.

That's the type of action that may be necessary to fend off the
Pacifica establishment that "would rather censor, intimidate and fire
rather than come to solution," according to KPFA disc jockey
Robbie Osman.

Although Osman said Pacifica officials deny they will make any
decision on their by-laws in March, he also warns that they could
be lying.

Calls to Pacifica Radio Network were not returned.

Still, Osman appreciates the community support that the Berkeley
City Council has given the station and its supporters in the past.

"KPFA is very closely tied to the whole Northern California
community, particularly in Berkeley. And that's the glory of KPFA,"
he said. "That's the reason that 10 to 15 million people got off their
duffs and protested the closure of KPFA and [Pacifica] started
playing country and western music. It says a lot."

One fifth of California's Assemblymembers
today signed a letter opposing changes in the Foundation's
bylaws. The letter was circulated by Assemblywoman Wilma
Chan, who plans to bring it to the Senate chambers next week. In
addition, Assemblywoman Dionne Aroner has asked the state's
Audit Committee to reopen its investigation of the Pacifica crisis.

We Protest Pacifica's National Leadership Actions and Support the
Dissenting Board Members

In an action reminiscent of its closing of Berkeley's KPFA in 1999, the
Pacifica Foundation's national leadership is now moving against New
York's WBAI. The station's managers have been fired, door locks
changed in the middle of the night, staffers banned from the station
and protesters
arrested. Security guards have been brought into enforce the changes
imposed without warning or explanation by Pacifica's Washington
D.C.-based executive director, backed by its board membership.

Another target of the action, Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman hangs
on to her job amid harassment on-air and off by Pacifica's national
leaders and
recently-installed station management in New York. Meanwhile, Pacifica's
newly-appointed morning show host has spoken on-air in support of the
Pacifica board selling off WBAI.

For most of its 50-year history, Pacifica has been a public resource for the
progressive community. Recently, a self-selected, unaccountable and
secretive board majority has acted as if it owns Pacifica and has ruled by
fiat. In the wake of this latest crisis, six courageous members of
Pacifica's national board issued the following public dissent on January 18
in hopes of getting the Pacifica network back on path:

" We are deeply troubled by the recent developments at WBAI radio in
New York City, one of the five stations of the Pacifica Foundation.
It is not too late to remedy the situation, and we are working toward
that end...

"__The National Board must take steps to ensure the immediate
reinstatement of the three people fired at WBAI:Station Manager
Valerie Van Isler, Program Director Bernard White, and Producer
Sharan Harper. According to the information we have, the Pacifica
Foundation's internal procedures were not followed, there was not
compliance with union contracts, and none were informed of the cause
of their firings. All three of these people should be reinstated as
full time employees without further delay. Existing internal
processes which address job performance, or any other concerns, must
be followed.

"__The continuing 'banning' of long time volunteers and free-lance
reporters, the decision to not allow the Local Advisory Board to meet
at the station, and the use of security personnel are all having a
chilling effect at the station. Action must be taken now to lift the
bans, to ensure the LAB can meet at the station and to remove
security people from the station.

"-As members of the National Board, we believe it is critically important to
review the internal processes within the Pacifica Foundation. We must
build democratic decision making structures throughout Pacifica and
re-commit
ourselves to work for the principles of free-speech, community-based,
corporate-free radio, as first articulated by Pacifica Foundation's founder,
Lewis Hill.

We support the efforts of the dissenting Pacifica Board members, especially
their call to "build democratic decision making structures throughout
Pacifica and re-commit ourselves to work for the principles of free-speech,
community-based, corporate-free radio, as first articulated by Pacifica
Foundation's founder, Lewis Hill".

This is to advise you of recent actions taken by the National Writers
Union in support of WBAI workers, members of UE Local 404.

Concerned about the apparent violation of union contracts and the
efforts of Pacifica management to censor journalistic expression at
WBAI, the National Executive Board of the National Writers Union (UAW
Local 1981), meeting on February 4, 2001, offered its "support and
solidarity to UE Local 404 in regards to the situation at WBAI."

Furthermore, the Bay Area Local of the NWU, on Tuesday, February 6,
signed on to the statement below, calling for a lifting of the state
of siege by Pacifica management against WBAI staff, and demanding an
end to the efforts of the Pacifica Board to undermine the mission and
spirit of the Pacifica Network by eliminating accountability to its
listener supporters and selling off network assets.

We, the undersigned, are trade unionists & Labor organizations who
represent tens of thousands of working people, many of whom listen to
Pacifica network radio stations and support these stations.
Historically, Pacifica's listener-sponsored, Community-based,
progressive radio stations have not only covered but supported the
efforts of working people everywhere to organize and gain their right
to fair working conditions.

We deplore your recent actions at Station WBAI, which have threatened
employee rights, gravely violate free speech principles, and place in
jeopardy Pacifica's important role as an independent source of news,
opinion, and culture.

Your recent treatment of WBAI's paid and unpaid staff, Local Advisory
Board members, listeners and supporters would be reprehensible at a
for-profit company, let alone at a non-profit institution which has
been historically dedicated to the promotion of better conditions for
all working people and whose mission has included serving as the
voice of the voiceless.

We are disturbed that you are using funds largely donated by working
people to retain the services of consultants and law firms like
Epstein, Becker & Green, organizations known for thwarting the
efforts of worker's right to organize and for advertising themselves
as maintaining "union-free" workplaces.

We are similarly disturbed by the changes to the Pacifica
Foundation's by-laws that have been proposed by Mr. John Murdock of
Epstein, Becker & Green. They would, if allowed, remove all
accountability by the Pacifica Foundation's Board to its
constituencies, allow the Board to self-select itself, and would
place the Foundation's resources and decision-making power in the
hands of as few as three undemocratically self-selected Board members.

We believe that your recent actions run counter to the values of the
Democratic, Progressive, Community-based media upon which Pacifica
was founded. These activities are in direct violation of the Mission
of the Pacifica Foundation and they must be reversed.

We, hereby, call for you to take the following actions:

- Rehire all fired WBAI staff and eliminate your "gag" rule and all
forms of censorship at all Pacifica stations.

- Do not retain the services Epstein, Becker & Green or any other
consultants whose work opposes the efforts of working people to
organize for better working conditions.

- Do not approve the by-law changes proposed by Mr. Murdock. Keep the
original by-laws which are consistent with the original Mission of
the Pacifica Foundation.

- Restore the Pacifica Foundation to a democratic structure that
makes it accountable to its Constituencies; remove all illegally
appointed Board members.

Note: This statement was also read at the San Francisco rally outside Epstein, Becker this week.

As members of the KPFA staff, paid and unpaid, we condemn the outrageous actions taken by the Pacifica Foundation's leadership at our sister station WBAI in New York on December 23rd, 2000. We support the demand made by the concerned staff and listeners of WBAI for the return of all fired and banned staff, as well as their demand for a democratic process to determine the leadership of the station.

In the month since the initial crackdown at WBAI, Pacifica management has
responded to criticisms from staff, listeners, and media watchdog groups,
not by beginning a dialogue, but instead by extending its pattern of
abuses. These include: further "bannings" of volunteer staff, on-air
harassment of staff who have been critical of the actions taken by Pacifica
Executive Director Bessie Wash and Interim General Manager Utrice Leid, and notifying WBAI's Local Advisory Board that it will no longer be allowed to meet in the station. All these actions run counter to the values of democratic, community-based media on which Pacifica was founded. They must be reversed.

The recent events at WBAI are chillingly reminiscent of the lockout at KPFA
in 1999 and demonstrate the necessity for a complete overhaul of the
Pacifica National Board and the management structure it directs. We support the legal efforts of listeners, fired staffers, and dissident members of the National Board to make Pacifica's governance and management processes transparent and responsive to the communities which have built the network over the last fifty-two years.

A lockout at the community-sponsored radio staion WBAI, 99.5FM has taken
place, and friends of WBAI are asked to join a growing group of concerned
listeners to attend an emergency rally on Saturday, January 6 at 12 Noon
to protest the illegal lockout. The rally will take place in front of WBAI,
at 120 Wall Street. Take the 2,3 or 4 train to the Wall Street station.

Why is this lockout important to 802 members?
WBAI's staff, represented by the United Electrical workers, have been a
consistent and vocal voice for the labor movement in general, and to Local
802 in particular. On numerous occasions, WBAI has invited Local 802 representatives to go on the air to discuss issues of concern to our
members. WBAI covered the NYC Ballet Strike, helped spread the word about
the struggle for union representation at the Apollo, and has had in-depth
programs on the union's Justice for Jazz Artists campaign.

Why has WBAI locked out its radio personalities?

In short, WBAI is partially controlled by the national Pacifica
Foundation, which has several stations throughout the country. Pacifica has been accused of trying to control WBAI, in an attempt alter WBAI's mission towards more of a main-stream radio station.

In a move many people see as contradictory to Pacifica's history, the law firm of Epstein, Becker, and Green has been retained to help fight the UE shop at WBAI. According to www.savepacifica.net, Epstein, Becker is known as a union-busting lawfirm.

For more information, and to email statements of protest, please visit the website www.savepacifica.net Most mainstream media in NY either ignores labor's message, or is hostile towards it. WBAI is too valuable a resource for the labor movement to let die. Help Save WBAI!